1 Samuel 26:5

And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had pitched: and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul lay in the trench, and the people pitched round about him.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
David	דָּוִ֗ד da.Vid	H1732	David · proper noun, a man's name
arose	וַיָּ֣קָם vai.Ya.kom	H6965	to rise (in various applications · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
came	וַיָּבֹא֮ vai.ya.Vo'	H935	to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
place	הַמָּקוֹם֮ ha.ma.kOm	H4725	properly · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
Saul	שָׁאוּל֒ sha.'Ul	H7586	Shaul · proper noun, a man's name
pitched	חָנָה cha.nah-	H2583	properly · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
David	דָּוִ֗ד da.Vid	H1732	David · proper noun, a man's name
beheld	וַיַּ֣רְא vai.Yar'	H7200	to see · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
place	הַמָּקוֹם֙ ha.ma.kOm	H4725	properly · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
Saul	שָׁא֔וּל sha.'Ul	H7586	Shaul · proper noun, a man's name
lay	שָֽׁכַב sha.khav-	H7901	to lie down (for rest · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Abner	וְאַבְנֵ֥ר ve.'av.Ner	H74	Abner · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
son	בֶּן ben-	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct
Ner	נֵ֖ר ner	H5369	Ner · proper noun, a man's name
captain	שַׂר sar-	H8269	a head person (of any rank or class) · noun, common masculine singular construct
host	צְבָא֑וֹ tze.va.'O	H6635	a mass of persons (or figuratively · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Saul	וְשָׁאוּל֙ ve.sha.'Ul	H7586	Shaul · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
lay	שֹׁכֵ֣ב sho.Khev	H7901	to lie down (for rest · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
trench	בַּמַּעְגָּ֔ל ba.ma'.Gal	H4570	a track (literally or figuratively) · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
people	וְהָעָ֖ם ve.ha.'Am	H5971	a people (as a congregated unit) · conjunction + definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
pitched	חֹנִ֥ים cho.Nim	H2583	properly · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural absolute
about	סְבִיבֹתָֽיו se.vi.vo.tov	H5439	(as noun) a circle · noun, common both genders plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

1 Samuel 17:55 And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Ab…
1 Samuel 14:50-51 And the name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz: and the name of the captain of his host was Abner, the son of Ner, Saul’s…
1 Samuel 17:20 And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the…
1 Samuel 9:1 Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjami…
2 Samuel 2:8-12 But Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul’s host, took Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim;
2 Samuel 3:7-8 And Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah: and Ish-bosheth said to Abner, Wherefore hast thou gone in unto my fa…
2 Samuel 3:27 And when Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him quietly, and smote him there under the fifth rib, t…
2 Samuel 3:33-38 And the king lamented over Abner, and said, Died Abner as a fool dieth?

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 26:1-5

Here, 1. Saul gets information of David's movements and acts offensively. The Ziphites came to him and told him where David now was, in the same place where he was when they formerly betrayed him, Sa1 23:19. Perhaps (though it is not mentioned) Saul had given them intimation, under-hand, that he continued his design against David, and would be glad of their assistance. If not, they were very officious to Saul, aware of what would please him, and very malicious against David, to whom they despaired of ever reconciling themselves, and therefore they stirred up Saul (who needed no such spur) against him, Sa1 26:1. For aught we know, Saul would have continued in the same good mind that he was in…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 26:5

DAVID STAYS ABISHAI FROM KILLING SAUL, BUT TAKES HIS SPEAR AND CRUSE. (1Sa. 26:5-25) Saul lay in the trench, and the people pitched round about him--Among the nomad people of the East, the encampments are usually made in a circular form. The circumference is lined by the baggage and the men, while the chief's station is in the center, whether he occupy a tent or not. His spear, stuck in the ground, indicates his position. Similar was the disposition of Saul's camp--in this hasty expedition he seems to have carried no tent, but to have slept on the ground. The whole troop was sunk in sleep around him.

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 26:5

David arose - As David and his men knew the country, they had many advantages over Saul and his men; and no doubt could often watch them without being discovered. Saul lay in the trench - The word במעגל bammaegal, which we translate in the trench, and in the margin in the midst of his carriages, is rendered by some in a ring of carriages, and by others in the circle, i.e., which was formed by his troops. Luther himself translates it wagenburg, a fortress formed of wagons or carriages. As עגל agal signifies any thing round, it may here refer to a round pavilion or tent made for Saul, or else to the form of his camp. The Arabs, to the present day, always form a circle in their encampments, and…

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The Church Fathers

And David arose and came to the place where Saul was. When the Jews were persecuting Him, the Lord did not leave the province, did not withhold the benefits dispensed, but always taught in the synagogue and in the temple, where everyone gathered, and healed their sick (John 10).
— Bede, Commentary on Samuel

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Abishai — Father of (i.e., “desirous of”) a gift, the eldest son of Zeruiah, David’s sister. He was the brother of Joab and Asahel (2 Sam. 2:18; 1 Chr. 2:16). Abishai was the only one who accompanied David…
Abner — Father of light; i.e., “enlightening”, the son of Ner and uncle of Saul. He was commander-in-chief of Saul’s army (1 Sam. 14:50; 17:55; 20:25). He first introduced David to the court of Saul after…
Carriage — In the Authorized Version this word is found as the rendering of many different words. In Judg. 18:21 it means valuables, wealth, or booty. In Isa. 46:1 (R.V., “the things that ye carried about”) the…
David — Beloved, the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, a citizen of Bethlehem. His father seems to have been a man in humble life. His mother’s name is not recorded. Some think she was the Nahash of 2 Sam.…
Abner · General references — General references
Self-Control · Of David — Of David

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

1 Samuel 26:5

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 26:1-5

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 26:5

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 26:5

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 Samuel 26:5

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 26:1-5

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 26:5

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 26:5

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on 1 Samuel 26:5

Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Samuel 26:1-12

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Samuel 26:5